A Surprise From General Motors

Much is written about the American auto industry these days, but before GM and Chrysler declared bankruptcy, the most common sentiment I used to hear about GM, Ford, and Chrysler cars was that their quality and reliability sucked. They have allegedly gotten better while foreign brands like Toyota and Honda have, on occasion, gotten worse. I haven't bought a recent car from the Big Three to see the difference, and that leads to my point with this page.

My car looks similar to the one pictured above. It's been in my family since new and I've driven it for most of that time. True to form, the quality was poor. The engine is weak and gets crappy mileage. No doubt the money that was saved on engine development allowed GM of the late 1990s to buy advertising and retirement/health benefits. Other things GM skimped on that created problems I had to fix at my expense include:

• All the weight-bearing components in the sunroof broke around 2002 (~4 years of very rare use) because GM made them out of cheap plastic. I replaced them with aluminum parts. Cost to repair: $150.00

• The upper engine mount was made with short bolts. Result? Overtime, the engine vibrates the mount to pieces (I kid you not, my mount literally fell apart in my hand when I removed it). Without a working mount, you feel engine vibration everywhere in the car (dashboard, seat, floor, steering wheel, etc). The mount I replaced it with, shockingly, had longer bolts and all the vibration I felt in the car went away immediately. 8 years later they have yet to return. Cost to repair: $120

• GM made the track sliders for the rear power windows out of a thin and cheap plastic. Overtime, the slider breaks and causes the power window swing arm to jump the track. The power window motor still works -- the only problem is the window glass isn't connected to it. Shockingly, the replacement sliders GM sold a few years later were made from a much sturdier plastic. 3 years later and my back windows work just fine. Cost to repair: $25

• GM decided to save a few pennies by making the Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor tip out of plastic instead of metal. Result? It cracks after a few years and your emissions, performance, driveability, and fuel economy all go in the toilet. Miraculously, all these problems go away when the plastic tip is replaced with a metal one. Cost to repair: $18.00

• The paint on the spoiler peels off after 7 years or so (picture). Not sure precisely how, but I wouldn't be surprised if GM saved a few pennies during the paint process. Cost to repair: $100.00

• Lastly, GM decided to skimp and use a radiator with metal cooling fins and plastic side tanks. Result? The plastic-metal seam breaks, causing a coolant leak. Only solution is to replace the radiator.  Cost to repair: $200.00

Total cost to repair GM's incompetence: $613.00 and untold hours of labor

However, since I fixed those problems, I've had relatively little go wrong with it -- the only thing that comes to mind is a serpentine belt tension spring that broke. Arguably, that spring is hugely important, but that's the extent of the serious problems I've had. One could argue, of course, that there is only so much that can go wrong with a modern car since the workers have to be able to drive it out of the factory without it collapsing so perhaps all that could go wrong with my car did. Perhaps, but it's still surprising to me. To name a few positives my car still has after 13 years and ~112,000 miles:

• It doesn't burn any oil
• I still get 30 mpg combined without even trying (automatic transmission; roughly 65% city driving)
• No mysterious leaks, smells, stutters, rattles, or other indications of problems
• The transmission still shifts fine
• The interior is still in great shape
• It still starts the first time every time.
• No dents (knock on plastic)

I keep so-so maintenance records so this is an almost-complete list of the maintenance I've done on it.

  Sunday, December 11, 2011 06:18:46 PM